The market offers only a few solutions for the thermal and/or acoustic insulation of components, in particular of components with complex geometries, where these can also be used at temperatures above 130° C., in particular above 150° C. Insulation of components at these high temperatures is usually achieved by using mineral wools which are additionally laminated with sheet metal or adhesive tape and thus stabilized. Insulating materials of this type, made of mineral wool with materials laminated thereto, have the following disadvantages: installation or application to the component requiring insulation, and fixing, is inconvenient and therefore expensive. It is very difficult to achieve insulation of complex components (molded sections) because the mineral wool with the necessary material laminated thereto (sheathing) has low flexibility. Mineral wools are absorbent, and in the event of escape of, or unintended wetting with, liquids or if condensation occurs this absorbency can sometimes lead to loss of insulating effect and, in the case of combustible liquids such as oils, can even lead to spontaneous ignition. Application of the mineral wool to the component requiring insulation can moreover release fibers and/or fiber dust, and these can lead to respiratory disorders if exposure is prolonged.
Alternative insulating materials based on polymers, e.g. self-expanding sealing tapes, or preformed insulating materials based on EPDM with closed cell structure, generally have usage temperatures restricted to ranges up to at most 130° C. or from 150 to 160° C.
GB 2 249 753 A describes a flexible material in the form of a web for the thermal insulation by way of example of hoses at extremely high temperatures, which comprises a metal foil and a layer made of an optionally foamed silicone rubber. Other textile layers can be provided. The silicone rubber layer is always crosslinked before application to the component requiring insulation. The rubber layer here is usually applied in the form of paste or solution, dried, and then crosslinked. Because of the prior crosslinking, the material then generally has no plastic deformability, since the crosslinking (vulcanization) converts the elastomer from the plastic to the elastic state. The material cannot therefore conform in ideal fashion to very complex component geometries, and is often unable to retain the desired position.
Even if flexible insulating material in the form of a web is plastically deformable it often has the disadvantage that when the material in the form of a web is used for wrapping it is not possible to fill undercuts on complex components, such as fittings or valves, with the insulating material.